Authorities said seven officers and deputies opened fire after an armed man pointed a gun at them in an Auburndale parking lot.
AUBURNDALE, FL — A 20-year-old woman and her boyfriend died Friday after a shooting in the employee parking lot of a Spectrum office led to an encounter between the armed man and seven Polk County law enforcement officers, authorities said.
The shooting happened July 10 at the Spectrum office at 1004 U.S. Highway 92 West. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said dispatchers began receiving 911 calls at 9:12 a.m. about a possible suicide and reports of gunfire. Auburndale police officers and Polk County sheriff’s deputies responded to the business.
Responding officers found the woman on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Her name was not released under Florida’s Marsy’s Law, which protects certain identifying information about crime victims. Authorities said she worked at the Spectrum office as a customer service agent.
The woman’s boyfriend, identified by authorities as 39-year-old Derrick Brathwaite, was nearby holding a firearm, the Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators said Brathwaite pointed the gun at officers and deputies as they approached him. Five Auburndale police officers and two Polk County deputies then fired their weapons.
Officers provided emergency aid to Brathwaite and the woman after the gunfire ended, but both died from their injuries, authorities said. No law enforcement officers were reported injured. The names of the officers and deputies who fired were not immediately released.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said investigators believe Brathwaite shot the woman before officers arrived. Family members told investigators that he had threatened to kill her and then himself a day earlier, according to the Sheriff’s Office. That account remains part of the continuing investigation.
Authorities said the woman left her Lake Wales home Friday morning and took her 3-year-old son to the home of Brathwaite’s parents in Waverly before going to work. The child was not at the Spectrum office during the shooting, according to the preliminary account released by investigators.
The Sheriff’s Office said Brathwaite had previously faced 31 felony charges and 24 misdemeanor charges. Officials did not immediately provide details about the outcomes of those cases. His prior record does not determine the findings of the investigation into Friday’s shooting.
The case is being reviewed by the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Auburndale Police Department are also conducting internal investigations, while the medical examiner will determine the official causes and manners of death.
Investigative findings will be forwarded to the 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office for review. Authorities said the information released so far is preliminary and may change as investigators examine evidence and complete interviews.
Author note: Last updated July 12, 2026.